TikTok is working on a content rating system — somewhat similar to the G, PG, PG-13, R or NC-17 rating system — to keep suggestive or mature content from reaching young s. TikTok has lately drawn a lot of heat over the kind of content that its younger s are exposed to, with the scope of problematic content including everything from ‘thirst traps’ to violence and health-related misinformation.
In fact, the company recently received a warning from the US government over its role in the online sale of drugs that have contributed to multiple overdose-related casualties. In the UK, lawmakers have again floated plans of using age verification to curb the content woes. In a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee in October last year, TikTok revealed that it is working on systems that will dish out content based on “age appropriateness or family comfort.”
TikTok has now automated the process of removing videos that violated its content policies, with the system trained to look specifically for objectionable elements such as sexual activity, violent, or graphic content that could be especially harmful or traumatizing to TikTok’s younger audience.
Right Move, Tricky Execution
According to specify the level of sensitivity when it comes to media that's pushed to their feed by the content algorithm.
The short-video sharing platform also has a -facing system in the pipeline that will allow content creators to specify whether a video should be restricted to a mature audience or is suitable for younger s as well. However, the move could result in other issues. YouTube has already courted controversy in relation to the suppression of videos that were wrongfully deemed inappropriate by its systems. This has particularly been an issue for videos with LGBTQ+ themes, or those representing elements that are alien or deemed inappropriate by western cultural standards but fine elsewhere. TikTok’s content rating system is currently being tested in a very small circle of s, and there is no word on when it will be widely implemented.
Sources: TikTok, Protocol, TechCrunch